Marriott Back in Athens with New Hotel

Some four years later, Marriott International has announced plans to “set up shop” in Athens with a new 366-room hotel to open by 2018.

According to media reports, Marriott is set to ink a deal with Chandris Hotels & Resorts this week, to transform the existing Metropolitan Hotel Athens to the new Marriott Hotel Athens.

The new Marriott Hotel Athens will debut once the hotel completes a $15-million (13.6 million euros) makeover.

“We are excited to work with Chandris Hotels, which has a strong history in the hospitality industry and shares our vision for innovating. We are also proud they selected us as their first collaboration with an international brand,” said Carlton Ervin, Marriott International’s chief development officer, Europe. “Their plan to significantly refurbish this hotel highlights our shared confidence in Greece’s dynamic travel and tourism industry.”

The hotel is strategically located on Syngrou Ave., opposite the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, a cultural complex designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano that houses the National Library of Greece and the National Opera.

“The hotel is well placed to benefit from the planned development of the area into an attractive waterfront Riviera, and this serious investment demonstrates our confidence in the future of the city of Athens and our strength as a company,” said George Paidoussis, president of Chandris Hotels, a Greek company behind five hotels in Greece.

Marriott, meanwhile, is present in Greece with 13 hotels and resorts and this year opened two Autograph Collection units on Crete: Domes of Elounda and Domes Noruz Chania.

The company also had a 30-year contract to manage the Athens Ledra Marriott which expired in 2013. The decision to return to Athens comes after Marriott International, Inc. completed its acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc, creating the largest hotel chain in the world.